Media Relations

Linea S.p.A. and Equilon S.p.A. merged into Compass S.p.A.

Price sensitive

On 27 June 2008, in execution of the agreement entered into in late 2007 Compass acquired 100% of Linea, a company operating in the consumer credit sector both in its own right and through fully-owned subsidiaries Equilon and Futuro, plus its 50:50 joint venture Ducati Financial Services. The integration process commenced immediately.

In this connection, the merger of Linea and Equilon into parent company Compass was completed today. Futuro, whose business is salary-backed finance, and the Ducati Financial Services JV shall remain separate legal entities given the specific nature of their operations and strategies.

The merger shall take effect in tax and accounting terms as from 1 July 2008.

The deal gives rise to the third largest Italian operator in this sector, with a market share of 8.4%, and customer lendings as at 30 June 2008 amounting to €8.8bn.